A Resume Is a Lifetime in the Making

A resume writing colleague is donating a resume for a fundraiser and wondered if I had anything she could use to explain to the silent auction bidders the value of the resume package. 

This is what I sent her:

Picasso was in a park when a woman asked him to draw her portrait. He sketched her and handed her the drawing. When asked how much she owed him, he replied, "$5,000." The woman was outraged. "But it only took you five minutes!" she protested. "No, madam, it took me all my life," replied Picasso.

When you have your resume created by a professional resume writer, the time invested in crafting a custom document is not limited to the effort required to gather information about your job target, previous experience and accomplishments, education, and value to your next employer — although this is significant. It's not limited to the several hours of time (and gallons of blood, sweat, and tears!) it takes your writer to carefully choose each word and phrase for maximum impact.

While there is significant time spent gathering and synthesizing the details of your career and designing a wholly unique and customized resume, the value of your professionally written resume originates in the skill of the writer — talent developed through study of effective resumes, training in modern communication techniques, and thousands of hours of writing experience.

You are also benefiting from what Picasso recognized as his biggest asset — a lifetime of knowledge and experiences. Your professional resume writer knows how to paint a custom word portrait for you that is a snapshot of your career progression and ambition, designed to attract job interviews. More than a few jobseekers have turned a single sheet of paper — their professionally written resume — into the job of their dreams. Will you be next?

How do you explain to your clients why an investment of $500 or $1000 — or more — is worth it?

Resume Writers: Do You Need More Marketing Leverage?

As small business owners, we're told that networking and one-to-one consultations are great ways to get in front of prospective clients -- and then turn those resume prospects into clients.

But there's another way, as Ian Brodie points out in this blog post:
How to Get Marketing Leverage

Think about how you can better leverage your time for more results.

How Headlines Can Get You More Blog Readers

As resume writers, we know the importance of headlines -- LinkedIn Headlines, resume headlines ... but if you have a resume writing blog, you also know that the headlines on your blog posts can help you get more readers to your blog.

Want to learn more? Check out this blog post from Jeff Bullas:
10 Awesome Headlines That Drive Traffic and Attract Readers

This strategy also works for email subject lines.

Avoiding Overwhelm and Getting Things Done

Trying to find focus. Being overwhelmed. Lengthy to-do lists.

All of these are things self-employed resume writers deal with daily.
Here are a couple of resources to help you with them.

The first is this blog post: "How to Eliminate Broken Focus and Overwhelm with Evernote."
I love Evernote. It's like my online memory bank. I keep all my notes there, including conversations with prospective clients, notes from training programs, lists of projects I'd like to get to "someday," and more.

Try Evernote for free.

(You can find out how I use Evernote by reading "Evernote for Everything: How Evernote Can Help You Manage Resume Client Projects, Remember Stuff, and Just Be More Efficient")

I'm going to try the "top 6" strategy.

And check out Jonathan's webinar on Evernote productivity here.

The second is Kelly McCausey's course, "The Power of a Focused Business."

Right now, it's free for a limited time. 
Just use the code "kellysgift" after clicking on the "Order Now" button.

Here's what's included:

• Module #1: The Big Tree Business Philosophy (MP3, PDF)
• Module #2: Target Market and USP (MP3, PDF)
• Module #3: Idea Brainstorming (MP3, PDF, and Idea Brainstorming Worksheet)
• Module #4: What The Heck Do You Know Anyways? (MP3, PDF)
• Module #5: Where Do You Go From Here? (MP3, PDF)
• Module #6: Brainstorming Your Offer Funnel (MP3, Brainstorming Worksheet)
• Module #7: The Secrets of Focus (Webinar Replay)
• Module #8: Branch Development 101 (Webinar Replay)

You don't have to go through it right now, but you DO have to claim your access by the end of the August or you WILL end up paying for it. (I've taken the course myself, and believe me, it's worth the $69. But if you can get it for free, do it!)

You'll get the downloadable audio recordings and PDFs (including brainstorming worksheets) and two webinar replays. Once you register, you'll have access to it and you'll be able to go through it at your convenience.

Go to this page to sign up for the program:
The Power of a Focused Business

Remember to use this code: kellysgift